This weekend, thousands of aspiring young engineers will be gathering in Houston, Texas, for the annual First Robotic International Championship. From April 20-24, students from all over the world gather together to compete, attend workshops, and participate in conferences. This year, the Half Moon Bay Robotics Team (the Pumpkin Bots) will also be competing in this worldwide tournament — an immense achievement for a club that started from a Moss Beach garage.
The members of the team are first-timers in the competition, and were not expecting to reach such immense levels.
From these tentative beginnings, the team went on to participate in several competitions — like the San Francisco and Silicon Valley Regionals — with creations that took months to complete. At the S.F. Regionals, for instance, they built a robot that was programmed to navigate in a circle full of other machines, locate and lift up strewn-about balls, and then precisely shoot them into a basket. Their laudable hard work led them to win several awards, including Rookie Inspiration, Highest Rookie Seed and Rookie ALL STAR, that qualified them for the World Championship.
To participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity, the team needed to raise at least $12,500 so that all nine members (and their 90-pound robot) could travel to Houston. They turned to GoFundMe and their community, and they ended up receiving $18,331 in just 24 hours.
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José Gomez, a nearly 20-year veteran educator and current assistant principal at Mills High School, will soon take up the leading role as principal at Capuchino High School, an institution he graduated from in 1997.
“I am excited to begin directly serving the students and families of Capuchino High School,” Gomez said in a press release. “This return to my alma mater as its leader grants me the opportunity to give back to the community that has given so much to me. I have lived in San Bruno practically my entire life and I am honored to serve the Mustang Family.”
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After graduating from Capuchino High School, Gomez went to San Francisco State University for his undergraduate degree and returned to earn a master’s degree in education administration in 2014. He also holds a master’s degree in learning and instruction from the University of San Francisco.
His career in education began in 2005 when he joined the San Francisco Unified School District team as an intern special education teacher, later moving to the South San Francisco School District in 2007 and becoming an assistant principal at El Camino High School in 2012 before taking on his role at Mills High School in 2015.
Reflecting on Gomez’s experience, district Superintendent Kevin Skelly expressed his support for promoting Gomez to be Capuchino High School principal, where he will oversee a school of about 1,100 students.
“Being a high school principal is one of the most demanding and rewarding jobs in education,” Skelly said in a press release. “His personal story, exceptional talent, and his deep roots in our community make him worthy of this opportunity to lead Capuchino High School.”
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San Mateo County residents named to the winter Dean’s List at Palmer College of Chiropractic’s West campus in San Jose include Grant Brown and Michael Fontana of Redwood City, Nathaniel Ramil of Foster City, Kelly Schweitzer of Hillsborough and Emily Yenie of East Palo Alto.
Class notes is a column dedicated to school news. It is compiled by education reporter Sierra Lopez. You can contact her at (650) 344-5200, ext. 106 or at sierra@smdailyjournal.com.
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